Bisesero Genocide Memorial
Bisesero Genocide Memorial Site:
Bisesero is a mountainous region situated about 31 km from the lakeside town of Kibuye. Located in the hills of the Kibuye province of West Rwanda where some 30,000 people were killed. Historically, the majority of people who lived in Bisesero were Tutsis, whose main activity was cattle breeding. They were called Abasesero, a name from which the region derived its name.
During the genocide of 1994, people in other prefectures were decimated because of their small numbers and the use of traditional handheld weapons. Whereas, the Tutis who lived in Bisesero and the surrounding region gathered together to resist the killers. They were successful for some days because they chose the top of a hill on which there were many rocks which they threw at the advancing attackers armed with clubs and machetes. The only disadvantage was that they were fighting with sticks against well-armed and trained soldiers.
After many days of resistance, Hutu reinforcements from the Republican Guard in Kigali and Interahamwe militiamen organized a serious attack against the Tutsis at Bisesero. Under this new assault, the people of Bisesero couldn’t resist for very long and thus succumbed to genocide. According to testimonies of the survivors, only a few Tutsis who lived in Bisesero escaped. During this onslaught, almost 50,000 people from the region were slaughtered.
This memorial is composed of nine small buildings which represent the nine communes that formerly made up the province of Kibuye. One should remember that this site, where the memorial has been built, is now called “Hill of Resistance” because of the heroic resistance mounted by the people of Bisesero against their assassins.
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